Rewire the World with New Internationalist

Dear supporters,

What a week! Things have really snowballed over these last few days. Thanks to all of you, we are now almost 90% of the way to our target with just two days left to go!

Yesterday nearly 100 people joined us for a live discussion on X. We heard from NI contributors in Nigeria, India and the UK about what we can do to tackle the far right, and the vital role of independent journalism. (No worries if you missed it –  a recording of the event is available to watch here.) 

This strength of feeling is reflected in the comments you've been leaving on our crowdfunder page. Like this one from Giles: ‘NI is a touchstone for truth, compassion and in depth political, social, environmental and cultural research and analysis, which I have relied on for decades to open my eyes, and keep them open.’

These messages have warmed our hearts and been an important reminder of why we do what we do. 

I was a journalism student in London in 2015, at the same time the media were reporting widely on Europe’s so-called ‘refugee crisis’. I remember being revolted by the heartless coverage of people seeking safety as a  ‘flood’ or ‘outsiders’ as governments responded by funnelling billions into militarized border regimes. All this served to provide ammunition to an already mobilized far right.

As New Internationalist’s newest Co-editor, I can’t tell you how proud I am to work for a publication that has always stood up for refugee rights and with the most marginalized. 

To counter the politics of hate and division, we need media that is brave enough to call for real alternatives to reactionary agendas and provide the much needed global and historical context to the challenges we face. It’s clear that 2015 was one of the catalysts for the rise of the far right today. But it didn’t need to be this way.

This campaign has been quite a journey and the support of our readers and co-owners – old and new – has really propelled us through. Thanks to you we will be producing an issue of New Internationalist focused on exposing the far right, and what we can do about it, later this year. 

So, with just 2 days to go, there is still time to share that social media post or fire off some WhatsApp messages and bring those last people on board. 

We are incredibly grateful to have you with us. 

With warm wishes,

Bethany Rielly

On behalf of all the team at New Internationalist